This really pisses me off! Swatch Group cuts parts supplies to external distributors (UK).

Habitant · May 17, 2014

citizenrich
Omega wants to be Rolex and this is a lazy way of doing it.

Rolex creates a false economy which allows them to consistently raise retail prices 6 to 8% a year. No tolerance for the grey/gray market allows them to accomplish this.

Consider this: Rolex makes and sells about as many cars as Nissan makes and sells each year.

The market perception of the Omega brand will only change on the day Omega is willing to shred watches before feeding them into the grey market. Until that day, omega will be a great watch - good value and Rolex will still be a status symbol ( whatever that means ).

*edit

thanks all - I learned much reading this thread.

Agree on all points!

Archer · May 17, 2014

gatorcpa
Yes it does. I don't think the stealth and rudeness is a Swiss thing...more like a Rolex thing. I've dealt with many arrogant Americans, Canadians and other nationalities, too. 😀
gatorcpa

I'm sure you have. But the point is the way the Swiss think tends to be very....well....Swiss. Hard to understand unless you have been in the watch industry there...there is a very specific attitude. I would not call it rudeness by any means.

Cheers, Al

Archer · May 17, 2014

watchyouwant
i do not think so. that is just a blip on the radar of omegas worldwide actions. if you buy out any watchmaker , who retires, on the planet, you end up with a LOT of stuff.....and the cases for a few factory lines are made in china with stringent quality controls. that opens the door for the 2.grade cases destroyed and in many cases rather NOT destroyed and finding the way back to the market.....there will always be ways to circumvent controls, if money is involved. kind regards. achim

Had a bit of a hard time following that, but are you saying the Watchco cases were "found" through old watchmaker estates? If so, that's not the case at all. Omega still makes the case, dial, hands, etc. for the SM300, and Watchco I'm sure was just ordering them from Omega like I do.

They loved to call the "NOS" to make you think you were getting some rare find, but they were just ordering them brand new from Omega. The case I have sitting here beside me was made 39/11, so the 39th week of 2011, so less than 3 years old.

Cheers, Al

Archer · May 17, 2014

jakeh417
But it isnt just Omega that is doing this or has been doing this. Look at most of the higher end watch companies, they will not let you order parts. Even American watch companies do this. The whole Swiss industry has been collectively restricting parts, because they want to make money on the entire life of the watch. At worse, it makes you buy a new watch instead of bothering to get the old one fix, which means they can push new products that will sell.

Lazy way out is if Omega had done this ages ago, and completely restrict parts to everyone including watchmakers. They've been doing it slowly but I guess they want a hard push now.

Doesn't have to be Swiss or high end - the vast majority of watch companies restrict parts.

I could give you many examples, but on is I tried to get a new crown for an Oakley watch a couple of years ago - not a chance. It wasn't an inexpensive watch to purchase either - I think the guy paid $1200 for it (WTF?!). I was able to identify and replace the kinetic movement for $60, and I eventually made the crown work again, but no parts access....

Habitant · May 17, 2014

Archer
Doesn't have to be Swiss or high end - the vast majority of watch companies restrict parts.

I could give you many examples, but on is I tried to get a new crown for an Oakley watch a couple of years ago - not a chance. It wasn't an inexpensive watch to purchase either - I think the guy paid $1200 for it (WTF?!). I was able to identify and replace the kinetic movement for $60, and I eventually made the crown work again, but no parts access....

Similarly, I tried to get a Mondaine crown, who refused to supply one and would only quote to fit one for £60. The whole Ronda movement is available in the US for $8... The particular watch cost around £400, I believe.

msp1518 · May 17, 2014

Imagine if GM or Honda or any of the major car manufacturers stopped supplying parts and said "come to the dealer or go **** yourself." Overnight most mechanics would go out of business.

This is why I do not get how the Swiss can do this. It's as anti-competitive as you can get. I cannot stand government intervention in business, but all of this is quite literally insane and anti-consumer. Of course, those with the money to pay lobbyists win.

Archer · May 17, 2014

Termination of the 1960 Consent Decree...worthwhile reading as this happened a few years ago, and right after account were terminated all over the place.

So here is the notice:

http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f214800/214815.htm

The AWCI's lawyer provided this document explaining it in broad strokes:

http://www.awci.com/wp-content/uploads/documents/ResponsetoDOJpressrelease.pdf

Comments on the termination - lots of reading here:

http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f221000/221005a.htm

Cheers, Al

ulackfocus · May 17, 2014

msp1518
Imagine if GM or Honda or any of the major car manufacturers stopped supplying parts and said "come to the dealer or go **** yourself." Overnight most mechanics would go out of business.

This is why I do not get how the Swiss can do this. It's as anti-competitive as you can get. I cannot stand government intervention in business, but all of this is quite literally insane and anti-consumer. Of course, those with the money to pay lobbyists win.

Switzerland is not the US. Therefore, they are not governed by America's anti-trust laws. Like I said, from their standpoint the restriction of parts is just the start of a good business model.

John R Smith · May 18, 2014

The stupid part of it all is, that it will simply result in less business for Swatch, not more. Let's suppose I have a 1950s Seamaster which cost me $500, and at present it costs me $150 to have it serviced, plus parts as needed. If at the end of 2015 a service would cost me $1,000 and it has to be sent to Switzerland, what does Swatch imagine I will do? Just stick the Seamaster in a draw and find something else to collect, that's what. And I have absolutely no interest whatever in a new watch from Omega or anybody else. So the net result to Swatch from me (and I suspect, many hundreds of others like me) will be the loss of my business for parts.

ulackfocus · May 18, 2014

John R Smith
The stupid part of it all is, that it will simply result in less business for Swatch, not more. Let's suppose I have a 1950s Seamaster which cost me $500, and at present it costs me $150 to have it serviced, plus parts as needed. If at the end of 2015 a service would cost me $1,000 and it has to be sent to Switzerland, what does Swatch imagine I will do? Just stick the Seamaster in a draw and find something else to collect, that's what. And I have absolutely no interest whatever in a new watch from Omega or anybody else. So the net result to Swatch from me (and I suspect, many hundreds of others like me) will be the loss of my business for parts.

I think Swatch knows this might happen, and it won't matter one iota to them. Even if they lose 10 customers like you who they might have made a few bucks on the parts that were sold, they'll make it up and more with just ONE customer who pays for factory restoration. Plus, they have less overhead by not dealing with parts shipments, subsequent returns, and all the other tasks associated with those accounts.

Again, it's good business for Swatch. It sucks for us, but they don't care. What business doesn't dream of monopolizing the industry?

gatorcpa · May 18, 2014

Sometimes, less business means more
profits. Dealing with a bunch of OCD collectors like us can be very expensive on a per unit basis.

I hope that in the end, this means that Swatch will hire more watchmakers that will reside in the brand boutiques to handle smaller jobs locally. They already do this in New York City.

Not sure that it will happen that way, but we can all hope.
gatorcpa

watchtechie · May 22, 2014

This is a first time post from me so please be easy on me...

I have been a watch repairer for 16 years or so and have always had this threat of swatch stopping material supplies.

i'm a little nervous about this, but i'm optimistic the decision will be overturned ( I hope so anyway, I've just ordered an £11,500 cleaning machine)

I'm sure someone will shoot me down for this but...

has it not been argued for years that the restriction of parts is illegal?
The UK (and most countries I suspect) would never do this because the revenue generated but as the majority of Swiss brands are restricting free trade, but...

Could the government not grow a pair and simply say that if you want to sell your watches here then supply parts.

problem solved overnight. I know it's harsh, but so is there practice. I bet they wouldn't like it up 'em 😉

Craig

MSNWatch · May 22, 2014

W watchtechie
This is a first time post from me so please be easy on me...

I have been a watch repairer for 16 years or so and have always had this threat of swatch stopping material supplies.

i'm a little nervous about this, but i'm optimistic the decision will be overturned ( I hope so anyway, I've just ordered an £11,500 cleaning machine)

I'm sure someone will shoot me down for this but...

has it not been argued for years that the restriction of parts is illegal?
The UK (and most countries I suspect) would never do this because the revenue generated but as the majority of Swiss brands are restricting free trade, but...

Could the government not grow a pair and simply say that if you want to sell your watches here then supply parts.

problem solved overnight. I know it's harsh, but so is there practice. I bet they wouldn't like it up 'em 😉

Craig

Not a lawyer but I would think while fair to compel a company to sell parts to new products for a period of several years, dont think you can compel the company to sell parts to watches that have not been sold in many years.

Davidt · May 22, 2014

I'm sure I read somewhere the other day that swatch were planning on restricting the ability for simply anyone to buy parts from places such as cousins, but independents that were authorised, with specific equipment etc, would remain so. Has anyone else heard this (I can't recall where I saw it now).

watchtechie · May 22, 2014

I don't think you can force a company supply parts that are discontinued, but if omega are producing (or have a stock of) parts, they should be available to all.

Craig

lenny · Jun 5, 2014

Ernst Westphal (German parts house) just sent a similar message out:

-----------------------------
Dear customers,

we have been notified by OMEGA SA, a subsidiary of the Swatch Group, that the supply of OMEGA spare parts will be terminated entirely to all parts wholesalers globally and therefore to us as well end of December, 2015. OMEGA spare parts are no longer available for free watchmakers, collectors and enthusiasts beyond this date.

What does this mean for you?

From 01.01.2016 you are no longer free in choosing your watchmaker. You will not be able to determine who is trustworthy to repair your precious watch. You will only have the option to send it to the local Omega repair center for repair or to hire a certified Omega watchmaker. This OMEGA certified watchmaker was forced to pay a lot of money for his certification. Sure that you might be a victim of some kind of price cartel then.

Should you repair your watches by yourself from that date on you will no longer be able to obtain the necessary spare parts in the free trade like before. The distribution policy of OMEGA will prevent all delivery of spare parts to you and others who have not been certified by OMEGA.

Help us to prevent this situation and leave your comment to this topic. We will forward your comments to OMEGA SA.

Sincerely,
Ernst Westphal K.

--------------------------

MSNWatch · Jun 5, 2014

Well for those inclined you have 18 months to accumulate whatever parts you think you will need for the future. I personally will have to put some thought into this and decide which parts I will accumulate.

Davidt · Jun 5, 2014

I can't decide if it's a slight over-reaction, given the fact that parts will undoubtably be available for some time via eBay and from within the "watchmaker network" where various parts will have been stockpiled.

However, if I'm being honest, I may well try and find out what the common speedmaster parts to be replaced are and buy a few of each, to be on the safe side. In fact, my 861 is with Christian WatchGuy right now so ill drop him an email to get his opinion. Any knowledgable folk on here care to venture an opinion as to what parts may be worth proactively buying?

By the way, it still pisses me off and I'll be leaving a comment with the site mentioned above😡

watchyouwant · Jun 5, 2014

we all should leave comments on that site. friends too. it is all about shareholder value, but omega still has a few vintage interested and focused employees....... kind regards. achim

CoupDeFoudre · Jun 5, 2014

What annoys me most about these type of decisions is that they completely sacrifice the feelings you develop for your watches on the altar of commercial profit.

When I choose to spend a goodly chunk of my disposable income on an object of great beauty that is a very personal expression of who I am and what I like then I take great care to ensure it is looked after properly.

Why should I be forced to use a corporate approved service when I want to use someone else that I believe can do the job to MY satisfaction, with an empathy for vintage that is just not there (for the most part) in the corporates?

I have modern watches that are serviced by Omega as well as vintage ones that are serviced by a watchmaker that I have used for a while, and the difference between them is like day and night. Sure Omega give you a written report, but you cannot speak with the watchmaker direct and build a relationship with them, which is part of the joys of tending to these magnificent machines.

Who else but an independent would chat to you about your watch or document the process of restoration for you?

Whew - rant over!!! 🤯

Time to have a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down...